Fall Colombia Seminar Slated Washington’s School of Ad- vanced International Studies (SAIS) of Johns Hopkins University will host a seminar this September on the current situation in Colombia. NACLA, the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), the Colom- bian Human Rights Committee of Washington and SAIS are co-spon- soring the meeting. Among those invited to partici- pate are the former Colombian foreign relations minister, Vzquez Carrizosa; former defense minis- ter and 1978 presidential candi- date, Alvaro Valencia Tovar; so- ciologist Alvaro Camacho; econ- omist H6ctor Melo; former presi- dent of the National Association of Financial Institutions, Ernesto Samper; U.S. ambassador to Co- lombia, Lewis A. Tambs; and the Colombian ambassador to the United States, Alvaro G6mez. Papers and discussions will ad- dress Colombia in the 1980s– prospects for the domestic politi- cal scene, the guerrilla movement, the economy, drug trade, militari- zation of civil society and the coun- try’s growing role in Washington’s regional strategy. Traveling Expertise Editor Judy Butler and Research- er Deborah Huntington shared their expertise with a group of U.S. tourists visiting Grenada and another which toured the Domini- can Republic in January. Deborah Huntington helped plan and lead the Dominican por- tion of a 212-week Oxfam study tour comparing development mod- 46 els in that country and Nicaragua. Making use of contacts solidified during the two years she lived in Santo Domingo, Huntington set up interviews with economists, peasants and development offi- cials. The 34 tour participants– including clergy, relief organiza- tion workers and food activists– spent a lot of time in the country- side, talking with the beneficiaries of land reform and learning first hand how the two countries have approached development issues. As a member of NACLA’s Cen- tral America research team, Judy Butler was asked by the Berkshire Forum in Stephentown, NY to join its tour to Grenada and add a re- gional perspective to what partici- pants would be learning. Most mornings began with 6:30 exercises on Grand Anse beach, and an open-air discussion led by Butler, a Nicaragua specialist, or two North Americans living in Cuba. Discussions explored the revolutionary paths taken by the three countries, given their differ- ent historical experiences as well as differing intensities of U.S. de- stabilization efforts. The 20 travelers met with lead- ers of organizations for women and youth, trade unionists, visited new agricultural projects, inter- viewed the Cuban Ambassador to learn about economic and cul- tural cooperation between the two island nations and worked along- side a volunteer construction team just finishing up a new community center. The group also toured the con- struction site of Grenada’s pride and joy-the new international airport. Countering Reagan as- sertions that the project is a post- revolution, Soviet-bloc conspiracy for military purposes, the Grena- dian project manager, engineer Ronald G. Smith, recounted his own years-long involvement in the design and planning. Smith shared the conviction of every Grenadian the group spoke with, that the air- port was crucial to the develop- ment of tourism and the new ag- ro-export industries. “If Reagan wanted good photos of the air- port,” mused Butler, “I don’t know why he didn’t just ask the students at the American medical school located out by the end of the run- way. Sending that satellite was really a bit tacky.” Black on Guatemala, This Time in English Garrison Guatemala (Jan-Feb) and Guatemala-The War is Not Over (Mar-Apr), our two-part re- port on the current crisis in Guate- mala, will appear in an extended book format, this time for a British audience. Zed Press approached the reports’ author, NACLA Re- searcher George Black, with the offer during a recent working va- cation to his native England. The Zed edition, to appear in early fall, will include a new introduction, additional statistical material and updated analysis of the Rios Montt period. While in London, Black also ap- peared on the BBC-1 television talk show, “Sunday Night,” analyz- ing the political impact of Pope John Paul II’s visit to Central America.
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